2022 Domaine A Lady A Sauvignon Blanc, Coal River Valley

I find this such a comforting wine. Everytime I smell it, it's like seeing a friend's face in a crowd and there's a smile of recognition. It's mid-straw in the glass with aromas of citrus, feijoa and guava and assorted glimpses of tropical fruits. Hints of grilled peach, fresh and pressed meadow flowers, mountain herbs, crushed stone, soft spice, dried honey and nougat. Complex and nuanced; it floats between citrusy, toasty, creamy and nutty, always moving and shifting the light. Lightly briny and sapid in its cadence with a long, sustained finish. Oh yeah. Drink to 2036.

95+ points Dave Brookes for Halliday Wine Companion, March 2026

Lady A was named after Ruth Althaus, wife of former Domaine A winemaker Peter Althaus who created this rich and opulent Sauvignon Blanc in defiance to Ruth suggesting that the vines should be pulled.

The wine has established a devoted following over the years, and drinks beautifully with food that has a bit of richness and nuance. Try with something like Bresse-style chicken with creamy morel and vin jaune sauce, or seared pork belly with Mexican Pipían Verde.

More about this wine

The fruit for the 2022 was sourced late in the season from two blocks of 35-year-old Sauvignon Blanc vines in the estate’s Stoney Vineyard, with an additional block supplying the 9% Semillon inclusion in this vintage. The fruit was fermented with indigenous yeasts in French oak barrels of which 80% were new. The wine remained in the barrels for a total of 17 months and was extensively lees stirred during this time.

The 2022 has been sealed with a natural cork.

About this producer

Domaine A was established by Denis Hill in the late 1970s and remains one of the island’s benchmark estates, now under the guidance of winemaker Conor van der Reest. The estate’s Stoney vineyard in Coal River Valley features thin layers of black clay over weathered dolerite and sandstone.